


Summer days drifting away to summer nights (Wonder what she's doing now)

by Wythers06



Category: Original Work
Genre: Balcony Scene, Couple, F/M, Finding Love, First Meetings, Getting to Know Each Other, Love, New Relationship, Reading, Romance, Seasons, Summer, Summer Nights, Throwback, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23601640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wythers06/pseuds/Wythers06
Summary: Prompt: Imagine your OTP: My neighbour and I both sleep outside on our own balconies during this heat wave. After 1 week we already said goodnight and good morning to one another. Yesterday, he installed a lamp and is now reading a book to me.





	Summer days drifting away to summer nights (Wonder what she's doing now)

The heat sweeped in through his open balcony door, slowly but surely turning his flat into the Sahara minus the sand. If only it would cool down at night like in the desert too, then he could probably deal with this heat wave, he figured. Sleep with an open door, cold air coming in and cooling down the heat of the day – that sounded pretty much like the dream right now. Unfortunately, though, this was no fairy tale, and the heat pushed onto him unforgiving, drenching him in sweat and not allowing him even a second of comfort. He wondered, if he would be able to cook some eggs on his floor right now, although he knew that that idea was foolish and still ways away of being possible. That didn't take away of the fact though, that it felt as if it was possible.  
And there seemed to be nothing that he could do. He'd already taken a cold shower twice, and had a fan constantly going as the apartment complex he lived in lacked air conditioning. Summers were never this hot, usually, it just seemed like for some reason this year hell had come down upon them early. Alright, admittedly, he did have a dramatic streak in him and knew that he was exaggerating, but seriously. This was ridiculous.  
He sighed and stepped outside on his balcony, looking longingly at the blue sky and hoping to spot even the slightest glance of a rain cloud. Just like yesterday he was met with the clear blue sky. Just like the day before, and the day before that, and the day... Not even the slightest bit of wind could be felt.  
The only good thing was, as it seemed, that, although the temperature outside was technically the same as inside his flat, out here he didn't feel like he was stuck in an oven.  
The open space was probably taking away from the pressing heat inside his small apartment, and the guy leaned against his reeling, taking in a deep breath and enjoying the feeling of weight having been lifted from around his body. It was still hot, he was still sweating profusely, and yet this felt much, much better than inside. He looked down at the dirty tiles beneath his feet, contemplating.  
Sleeping outside sounded like a much nicer idea than inside, yet he wasn't sure if he fancied putting his mattress on the filthy tiles, or if he could bring himself to clean. It only took him a second to blow the latter off, he be damned, but he was not cleaning now, in conditions like this.  
It only really took him one more second before he thought “fuck it” and went inside to grab his mattress. It's not like he was going to lie on the side of the mattress that would touch the floor, and inside he would only sweat every last drop of water from his body throughout the night, which didn't sound like the cleanest option either. He pulled the mattress outside and put it down on the floor, only throwing a pillow on top of it, not even bothering to get a blanket. He wasn't going to need it anyway. He went inside once more to rearranging his fan so that it was blowing outside onto his balcony, adding an extra bit of coolness, and grabbed a beer from the fridge as well as his laptop from the couch, before he settled down outside on his mattress.   
Relief washed through him, as his body finally started to cool down with the fan blowing directly onto him and the wide space around him giving the heat more room to expand too. He popped open his beer and took a long sip, before he turned his laptop on, ready to binge watch Prison Break until he fell asleep.   
He only made it half way through the first episode as a crash on the balcony besides his had him shooting up and pausing his show. A hushed curse could be heard from the other side, as the milky glass only gave away the silhouette of his neighbour. Thing was, although the boy had lived here for about three years now, he was rarely actually around and therefore barely knew any of his neighbours. He knew old Mrs. Betty from down the hall who had lend him some eggs when he needed them a few weeks ago, and Gibby from the floor below that accepted packages for him should he not be home to do so himself, but that seemed to be about it. Besides, his right door neighbours had only recently moved out, and he hadn't been sure if someone knew was already living there at all.   
As it seemed someone had moved in though, as he dearly prayed that he wasn't witnessing a burglar breaking in right now. A dull thud could be heard from the other side, as the person seemed to have finally been able to wrestled what ever it was through the balcony door outside. Hopefully not a body, the boy thought to himself, before smiling slightly.   
He definitely had watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds and Prison Break. “Sorry” a female voice sounded from ahead, “I didn't mean to interrupt your Netflix session, just thought your idea of hanging outside was brilliant. Don't let me distract you, just carry on as if nothing had happened” she called, and the guy smiled. “No worries!” he replied, “glad to be of help.” He could only hear her chuckle as a reply, and he laid back down, ready to continue watching his show. It only lasted a couple of seconds though, before he paused the episode again. The thought of possibly disturbing the girl by watching the show aloud made him uncomfortable and he set back up. “Sorry, I should have asked,” he called, “does it bother you that I have it playing out loud? I can get my headphones if you want.”  
It took the girl a second to answer, but when she did a smile could be heard in her voice. “Nah, it's fine. I'm gonna use my headphones to listen to some music in a second hear anyway, so feel free to have the volume up as loud as you want – as long as nobody else complains of course!”  
“Okay, cool, thanks” he said and laid back down, only now giving himself a mental slap as he realised he had not asked for her name or introduced himself either. He felt as if it would be ridiculous to sit back up now thought to ask, and he wasn't even sure if he would be heard or if she had already turned her music on, so he stayed down and decided to just ask her another time.  
Although he tried to focus on Prison Break after that, the show wouldn't really come to him anymore like it usually did, his mind too taken up with thoughts of the mysterious girl besides him.  
Unsurprisingly, it took him longer than usual to fall asleep that night, and when he did he dreamed of different versions of the girl, as his subconsciousness was trying to figure out, what she might look like.

The next day seemed to have come and gone, with him waking up early and getting ready for work, making it through the day with just three coffee, and a bite for dinner on the way home. Exhausted, he unlocked the door to his apartment and went straight for the shower before he brushed his teeth and went outside to crush down onto his mattress, only reaching back inside to turn on his fan and laying down after that. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in and feeling happy to finally be lying down. He listened out for any possible sound from his next door neighbour's balcony, but no sound could be heard.   
It wasn't that big of a surprise, he thought, seeing that he had actually gotten off work early, and seemed to have been home before her yesterday too. He tried to pass by time by scrolling through his phone, catching up on the news and finally getting himself some cold water from the fridge along with leftovers from two days ago, that he quickly reheated before going back outside onto his balcony.   
Although today had not been as hot as yesterday, his flat still felt like the inside of a volcano and he didn't fancy spending more time in there than he absolutely needed to. Taking a couple of bites from his food, he pulled out his phone again and scrolled trough his texts, getting back to his brother and promising to come home soon to catch up with him on life. It wasn't until he had finished his food that he heard a sound coming from the other balcony.   
His heart immediately was in his throat and he could feel his breathing becoming more shallow. “Hello?” a quiet voice sounded from behind the glass, as he could see her standing behind it. He swallowed hard, before a slightly squealed “Hi” came out of his mouth. Cursing his voice under his breath, he could hear the girl lightly chuckle from in front of him. “Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Again, I seem to be good at that.” He laughed at that and replied with a smile on his face “Don't worry, I'm just rather jumpy, as it seems.” She laughed, before he could see her sitting down. He really wished he was able to actually see her, not just her shape, but the milky glass really was in his way.   
“So..” she said, and his head shot up, “what are you up to? If you don't mind me asking. Sorry, I hope I'm not being too intrusive..” “No, no, it's fine! Not much really, just finished my dinner and I was probably going to find a movie to watch or something. You?” he replied, feeling his heart skip a beat at the thought that she actually cared about what he was up to. “I was gonna read a book, I think. I prefer those over films. I do get why you like watching them though, of course, I'm not trying to say it's wrong of you to, uhm-” she cut off and he actually had to laugh.   
“Don't worry, love, no offence taken. I did like to read a good book too, when I was younger, I just find it hard to find the time now, you know? Like, of course I have time, I mean, I was gonna watch a movie after all, but reading a book is much more exhausting and time consuming, 'cause it's hard to put down ones you've started it. Like, I'd love to read more, but finding the time for it is actually harder than I thought it could be. You know what I mean?” he said, hoping his confession didn't completely turn her off.   
To his relief, she laughed “Yeah, I think I do. Being a journalist, I guess I just might find it easier to find time. I write book reviews amongst other things, so I just have to find the time. On the train on my way to work, in the evening, lunch break,... I just always have my nose in a book.” she told him, and he could hear the smile in her voice which made his heart flutter.  
“Yeah, I get it. And I should totally start it up again too. What book are you reading?” he asked.  
“I'm actually just starting a new one called “The pillars of the earth”. Have you heard of it?” she replied and he thought for a minute, before shaking his head no. He mentally slapped himself, realising she really couldn't see him, and quickly called out an answer:   
“Don't think I have. What's it about?”   
“Different people's lives in the 12th century. Would you like me to read it out loud? That way you can somewhat read along, I guess.” she replied, making him grin. “Yes please!” he said, and closed his eyes, just taking in her voice as she began to read the first few words “The small boys...”.   
Her voice was even softer now, more calming than it had been before, and he thought that she should totally work as a audiobook narrator. The words rolled smoothly out of her mouth, and he smiled at the passion she had for reading, which he could clearly make out from her reading. He wished he could actually see her face too, as he could easily imagine her eyes lighting up at funny parts, her forehead crinkling at ruff bits or her face turning mad red at the given parts.  
And would her eyes actually get lighter, or darker, depending on the mood? Where they brown, or blue? Green? Grey? Did she tie her hair back so it wouldn't fall into her face while she was reading, or did she just keep it down? Maybe it was short to begin with? He really longed to know, but knew he was unable to find out as of now. So instead, he just relaxed and listen to her calm voice, which got louder or quieter depending on the mood in the book.   
He looked at the ceiling and smiled. He might not know what she looked like, but he had no doubt that she was the prettiest girl he had ever met. As the night grew darker, her voice became lighter and he could feel his eyes drifting closed. He could her her put the book down and smiled, rolling over. “Beautiful” he whispered, to which he could hear her laugh. “Goodnight, love” she said. Not long after he fell asleep, a smile still on his face.

Each following evening, they spend their time like this, with her reading to him, and him listening. Summer nights slowly got shorter, as the cicadas got louder and the temperatures lower. At some point they started to both curl up under blankets when it became too cold to sleep without one, not wanting to give up their evenings together. And still they hadn't met face to face, nor did they know each others name, and yet they both knew that the other one was special.  
It wasn't till one autumn night, that the boy looked out and realised, that tonight had to be the first night that he wouldn't be able to listen to her voice. He stared out the window, the dark sky and rain representing his mood. The wind was blowing hard, howling and sending the rain straight against his windows, meaning he would get soaked if he were to go outside right now, and so would she.  
Grumpily, he sank down on his sofa and stared at the wall begrudgingly, not sure what to do with himself. Thankfully, he was saved by the doorbell, which pulled him out of his misery and made him go to the door. Although he hadn't invited anybody over, nor was he in the mood to speak with anybody but her, he was still glad for the distraction.   
As he opened the door he was met with the sight of a book, which he had mostly listened to for the past few weeks, and a nervous smile on the prettiest face he had yet seen. “Hi” the girl said, and he felt speechless, as he recognised her voice immediately. “I think we have a book to read?” she continued, and a big smile broke out across his face as he stepped aside to let her in. “We do” he agreed, closing the door behind her and feeling like the luckiest guy in the whole world.

**Author's Note:**

> Just found this in my "Finished work" folder, think it's from when my friends and I had a writing circle back in 2017.  
> Honestly just wanted to test how uploading something works, but hope you enjoyed this anyways.


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